Glamorous Western Mass is home to a surprising number of minor celebrities, living and dead No matter how many Wahlburgers Mark and Co. open, Boston can sometimes feel a little devoid of A-listers. But who needs Hollyweird? Drive just a couple hours west, and suddenly you're surrounded by famous people and the ghosts of dead famous people.

How you can take back Boston this summer, and rediscover New England while you're at it Nobody can fault us for heaving a sigh of relief come the annual May exodus, when we see the suitcases, futons, and mini-fridges stacked up along Mass Ave. That sight heralds sweet freedom for the rest of us.

QUILTBAG folks tell their stories of newfound visibility, rethinking "gay nights," political music, and more QUILTBAG folks tell their stories of newfound visibility, rethinking "gay nights," political music, and more

Year in transition About this time a year ago, I watched Chaz Bono on Late Night with David Letterman try to explain to America what it meant to be transgender. Letterman's hammy reaction made me clammy with fear. Oh god, I thought, terrified.

Instead of writing journalism and whatnot, we accidentally wasted the entire week looking at Tumblr and listening to Tumblr and making a Tumblr and thinking about some Tumblrs that it would be funny to make and/or read and/or listen to. Here’s some of that. Instead of writing journalism and whatnot, we accidentally wasted the entire week looking at Tumblr and listening to Tumblr and making a Tumblr and thinking about some Tumblrs that it would be funny to make and/or read and/or listen to. Here’s some of that.

Staffwriter Chris Faraone has been keeping a list of Tumblrs that someone should totally start: pleasestartthistumblr.com. Note: The list used to be longer because someone actually started a Tumblr at fyblanchedevereaux.tumblr.com.

What’s up, dog? One zebra, two bear cubs, a trout, four horses, several cows, a falcon, many dogs, no cats: that was the inventory, around press time, of Phoenix staff writer David S. Bernstein's latest Internet sensation, MAPOLIWITHANIMALS.TUMBLR.COM — yes, a Tumblr devoted to pictures of Massachusetts politicians posing with animals.

How I didn't survive the walking dead I died too quickly in the zombie apocalypse. It was the last, fatal bite I remember most clearly: I had just zigzagged to safety through a grove of lurching undead. As I slowed to bask in my success, I felt the gruesome rip of Velcro at my hip — and it was over.

The Art of LARP For the uninitiated, the word "LARP" conjures burly beardos hitting each other with foam swords in the woods and corseted women in capes flouncing around hotel ballrooms, all for entirely inexplicable reasons.